Grandview boys add to trophy streak

YAKIMA -- Christian Schrank was determined not to be a part of the first Grandview team to fail to trophy at state.

So the 6-foot-3 senior guard made sure it didn't come to that.

Schrank scored 21 points, grabbed a clutch offensive rebound with eight seconds left and buried two free throws to ice a 54-51 2A state win over River Ridge on Friday at the SunDome.

"Everyone was telling us to keep the streak alive, that we don't want to be the team that ends it. It's kind of a lot of pressure," said Schrank, who hit 7 of 16 shots, including three from 3-point range.

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The Greyhounds (24-3), which will earn its 14th state trophy in 14 trips today, will face West Valley of Spokane (23-4) in the fourth-sixth place game at 8 a.m. It's a rematch of the regional seeding game two weeks ago, which the Eagles won 51-44.

Grandview carried a 30-21 lead into halftime, but Rahmel Moton got hot for River Ridge, scoring 13 points during an 18-4 run that put the Hornets in front with 1:04 to go in the third quarter.

Moton finished with 29 points on 11-of-14 shooting to lead all scorers.

"Our team downfall has been the third quarter," said Schrank, who had fouled out of the team's quarterfinal loss to Burlington-Edison with just seven points. "I felt like I had let the team down, so I wanted to step up and knock some shots down."

That's exactly what he did. Schrank drilled a pair of treys on the Hounds' final two possessions of the third quarter to pull Grandview to within 41-40.

"We were wondering who was going to show up at the Dome," said Greyhounds coach Roy Garcia. "But when (Schrank) gets in that role, you've got some options."

Schrank had six points in the final quarter, including a pair of driving layups that put Grandview back in the lead each time. But he saved his best for last.

With the Greyhounds leading 52-51 and 10 seconds remaining, Daniel Nielsen missed the front end of a 1-and-1, which could have given the Hawks a chance for a game-winner on the other end. But Schrank got position on the rebound and held on for dear life, getting fouled in the process.

"I had a guard on me trying to block me out, but I've played post all my life," Schrank said. "I had a few tricks up my sleeve."

He hit both free throws for a 54-51 lead.

River Ridge guard Charlie Connor's last-second 3-pointer came up short at the buzzer.